


Carry On

by Kuailong



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Amputation, Blood, Depression, F/M, Mild Gore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-31
Updated: 2014-10-31
Packaged: 2018-02-23 08:44:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2541479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuailong/pseuds/Kuailong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, things don't go as planned. You lose a few limbs, everyone gets weird, and your boyfriend goes on the king of all guilt trips. But somehow things work out, eventually. Because you're Avengers, and you're nothing if not a team. And you'll never stop being the Black Widow, a few synthetic limbs won't stop you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [letthesongtakeflight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/letthesongtakeflight/gifts).



> Happy Birthday letthesongtakeflight!

“I demand a shower when this is done.” Natasha grumbled into her ear-piece. This was dirty and grimy work, picking through a half collapsed building in hopes of recovering a piece of dangerous tech. It was blistering hot, which also tended to make her grumpy. Sweat clung to the back of her neck, it caused her tacsuit to stick to her skin. Her hair was filthy and sweaty.

“I second that statement, but only if I get to join you.” Tony’s voice filtered through her ear-piece. He was over in the northern sector as she was picking her way through the eastern. She smirked, climbing over a rather large piece of fallen wall.

“Only if you promise me a—” She was cut off suddenly as the ground rocked beneath her and she felt herself thrown into the air. Her entire left side screamed in pain, and she could vaguely hear her name being screamed in the distance. Or through her comm, she couldn’t tell. She passed out before her body met the ground.

———————————————————————————————————

Tony was focusing on Natasha’s voice, letting it try and relieve some of the frustration. JARVIS’ scans weren’t enough, and Tony was partially designing a better scanning system in his head as he picked his own way through the piles of rubble. It was tedious work, and they had no idea if the tech they were looking for had even survived the initial explosion of the building. He was frustrated, yes, but content enough. It wasn’t too terrible a mission for them, and he had Natasha in his ear. Until she got cut off by a large explosion that rocked the ground he stood on.

“Shit. Tasha? Natasha?” He called, angling himself and taking off in the direction of the explosion.

“Tony, what was that?” Steve called, and Tony spared a glance towards the western sector, where Steve was. Tony shook his head and then realized Steve wouldn’t be looking at him.

“I don’t know, but it came from Natasha’s direction. And she’s not answering on her comm.” Tony responded, landing on the edge of a small crater in the rubble. He flipped his visor up and waved the smoke away with his hands. He couldn’t see Natasha initially, so he started calling her name.

“Natasha? Tasha, come on, answer me.” He started carefully picking his way through the new rubble, the smoke and dust already clearing with the wind. He scanned the area, trying to find signs of Natasha. He didn’t know how close to the blast she had been, but he needed to hope. He needed her to be alright.

“Tasha, answer me. Please.” He wasn’t looking too deeply at the rubble, someone else could figure out the logistics of what happened. He needed to find Natasha. He crested a huge chunk of rubble and he saw her. Then he had to stop and process what he was seeing.

“Fuck. Shit. Steve, we need medical. Now.” Tony pitched forward as he spoke, trying not to be sick, trying to tell himself that she was alive. Even if her entire right side looked like hamburger and her arm and leg no longer resembled the limbs they were supposed to be. He couldn’t stop staring at her right leg. It was so torn up and mangled that it made him want to vomit.

“JARVIS.” He managed to get out, hoping his AI would know what he needed. What he needed was to know that she was alive, even as he stumbled closer to her prone form. The visor on the suit closed, the HUD flashing and displaying Natasha’s vitals. Tony choked back a sob, she was alive, but not for long if they didn’t get her to help. He reached her side and the visor flipped up, She was bleeding heavily, even he could see that. But there were too many wounds, too many places where blood was leaking. He could see her struggling for breath now that he was closer. Hear her wheezing.

“Bruce.” Tony croaked. “Bruce, I need you here.” He tried to make his voice steady, but he wasn’t sure he succeeded. Tony knelt down next to Natasha’s uninjured side and cupped her face with his hand.

“Come on, babe. Open your eyes. Please.” He wasn’t above begging in this situation. He stroked his armored thumb along her cheek, trying to wake her up.

“Jesus!” Tony’s head snapped up to see Bruce scurrying over the rubble towards them. Tony swallowed against the lump building in his throat. Bruce looked white as a sheet, and that just scared Tony more. The other scientist stumbled to Natasha’s side, tripping over a chunk of rubble as he ran. He dropped to his knees beside her and pressed fingers to her neck.

“Steve, ETA on medical.” Bruce called over the comm line, and Tony watched him rock backwards to assess the damage.

“About eight minutes now, I think.” Tony could hear Steve’s voice through the comm and in the distance, closing in. Bruce muttered what sounded like a curse.

“Whoever is closest to the jet, grab the emergency blanket and bring it here. Quickly.” Bruce’s voice was quick and urgent, even as he kept two fingers pressed against Natasha’s neck.

“She’s not waking up.” Tony said quietly, tapping her cheek gently in another attempt to wake his girlfriend. Bruce shook his head and glanced behind him.

“Almost there, Bruce.” Steve’s voice carried over their ear-pieces. Tony frowned, trying to push the panic aside. It wouldn’t do her any good to break down here, not when she needed help.

“Oh my god…” Tony’s head snapped up to see both Steve and Clint standing above the rubble. He wasn’t sure which one of them had said the words, or if they had said them together. They just stood there for a moment, and Tony watched as they digested the scene before them. And both he and Bruce kneeling in Natasha’s blood. Steve moved first, leaping down and running over to them. He handed Bruce the still packaged blanket.

“Alright.” Bruce said, and Tony thought maybe he was talking to himself. Tony watched him rip the packaging open and unfold the blanket. Bruce covered Natasha with the blanket, edging around her arm. Which brought Tony’s focus back to her arm. Her forearm looked about as mangled as her leg, he could see bone in places, muscle in others. He glanced at her elbow and had to swallow bile, because it looked like it was only attached to the rest of her by a few tendons and some muscle. Her hand was in even worse shape. At least her leg was covered, and he no longer had to see the bones and muscle that made up her leg. But that was where a good chunk of her blood was coming from, and it was already soaking through the yellow blanket.

“Steve, put pressure on her upper leg. Don’t worry about hurting her.” Bruce instructed, moving a little so that Steve had room. Steve knelt by her leg, and the moment he pressed down, Natasha jerked and screamed. Thankfully, she didn’t have to air to sustain a very long scream, and Tony was leaning over her, stroking her cheek and trying to calm her down. He didn’t even need Bruce to tell him to do that.

“Shh, easy. It’s alright, babe.” He told her, leaning in close. Her eyes were open, but she seemed to be staring past him. “Natasha, come on. Look at me.” He coaxed her, placing both hands on either side of her face. Her gaze finally focused and and she looked at him, breath still wheezing.

“S’a bomb.” She murmured, offering Tony a bloody smirk. Tony huffed out a laugh and leaned back, shaking his head.

“No shit, I think you found it.” He told her, leaving one hand against her cheek and taking her uninjured one in his. Natasha’s smirk quickly faded into a pained grimace. Tony wanted nothing more than to take the pain from her, take the injuries away. He wanted to be sure she would be alright, he wanted to be certain she’d live through this. But he couldn’t. And he wasn’t.

“How bad?” She slurred, and Tony glanced at Bruce. The scientist shook his head and Tony nodded, understanding. He stroked his thumb along her cheek and forced a smile for her. He needed to not alarm or agitate her, he needed to keep her calm.

“It’s not that bad.” He told her and her eyes glazed over for a moment. That scared him, and he tapped her cheek to try and draw her attention back to him. She refocused her gaze on his face and smiled tiredly.

“A-awful liar.” She breathed, weakly squeezing his hand. She closed her eyes after that and Tony started. He tapped her cheek again.

“Come on, babe. Keep your eyes open.” He coaxed her, squeezing her hand back. He could hear helicopter blades, and he could only hope that meant the medics were here. Natasha rolled her head to the side and cracked her eyes open. Out of the corner of Tony’s eye he could see Clint stand and flag down the medics.

“Help’s here, Tasha. Be strong.” He told her, stroking a hand across her cheek before he had to move away from her to let the medics work. He hovered nearby, though. Watched as she was loaded onto to a stretcher. He tagged behind when they moved her, only partially aware of the rest of his team. They set her down on the grass out front, where their jet and the helicopter were parked. Tony didn’t even notice Steve walk up behind him until there was a hand on his shoulder. But he couldn’t pry his eyes away from Natasha as the medics worked on her. It felt like he was rooted to the spot, forced to watch.

“Scans of the place didn’t show any bombs. Nothing.” He found himself muttering. He couldn’t help but feel this was a failing on his part, that his tech had let them down. Had let Natasha down. He watched the activity around Natasha. Watched as the medics cut away her tacsuit to place leads and an IV.

“Tony, it’s not your fault.” Tony started and turned to face Steve, only to see his own expression mirrored on the faces of the rest of his team. They were all terrified, even Thor. They all knew how bad it was, how they could still lose her. Steve’s hand was still on Tony’s shoulder, and suddenly Tony was grateful for the support. Natasha was what held the team together, he wasn’t sure how he could go on if they lost her. Tony was so busy watching his team that he immediately noticed the change in Bruce’s expression.

“Shit.” Bruce said, and Tony turned back to watch Natasha. There were too many medics swarming, he couldn’t tell why Bruce was upset.

“Bruce?” Tony asked hesitantly, trying to glimpse what Bruce had seen.

“She stopped breathing.” Bruce said quietly, and Tony flinched at that admission. And then he heard the metal of his shoulder grind beneath Steve’s grip. He stood there, still rooted to the spot, and watched them load her onto the helicopter. He wished he could stay by her side, but he knew he’d just get in the way.

“I’m going to follow them.” He found himself saying, shrugging Steve’s hand off and launching into the air after the copter. At least he could follow this way. He knew the team wouldn’t be far behind, their previous mission forgotten. What mattered now was Natasha, and nothing else. Tony flew the suit manually, keeping the helicopter in sight. Flying gave him something to focus on, something other than the vision of Natasha laying in the rubble.

 


	2. Chapter 2

At least they had found him a private waiting room, where he wasn’t standing in public in his undersuit. He had sent the Iron Man suit back to the Tower, he didn’t need it here. Speaking to the doctor briefly hadn’t allayed many of his fears, and he was feeling a bit nauseous from what the doctor had said. He didn’t even look up when the door opened, opting to keep his head resting in his hands. He still felt deeply at fault for this, there was no way around it. A failure in his tech was a failure in himself, and it was going to cost Natasha so much. He shifted a little when Bruce sat down next to him, so that he could face the scientist. He finally lifted his head and glanced around the room, finding his team still dressed in their battle gear.

“Have you heard anything, Tony?” Steve asked, sitting a seat over on his other side. Tony winced and nodded.

“Yeah. They took her into surgery not too long ago. The doctor said she had lost a significant amount of blood and was in shock when they brought her in, but she expects the surgery to go well.” He responded, looking down at the floor. He didn’t want to share the rest of it.

“Did she say anything about Natasha’s arm and leg?” Bruce asked and Tony flinched. Of course Bruce would ask that specific question. Tony hung his head and buried his face in his hands.

“Yeah. They won’t be able to save her leg, but they might be able to save part of her arm.” Part of, not even the entire thing. His own lapse was going to cost Natasha an arm and a leg, and he couldn’t even joke about it. The situation was too grave. He heard Clint swear in the corner, and caught Steve shifting uncomfortably in his peripheral.

“That’s what I was afraid of.” Bruce said softly, absently laying a hand on Tony’s knee. They were all silent for a bit before Clint spoke up.

“But you’re Tony Stark. And you’ve got Bruce Banner. You can create amazing prosthetics, right? I mean, that’s what you’re going to do, isn’t it?” Tony blinked and lifted his head. So caught up in his own guilt he hadn’t even realized that. Of course he could do that. He could make her the best prosthetics out there, especially if he was paired up with Bruce. He could make them so perfect that she’d have no impairment. He just needed to get his head out of his ass.

“Of course. Right, Bruce?” He turned to Bruce and smiled hesitantly. To his relief Bruce nodded and smiled back. He didn’t have time to wallow in guilt. They would build her a new arm and leg, and make them better than before. Things would be alright. But it was still going to take time to design and build the prosthetics. In the meantime, Natasha was going to need help. And she wasn’t one to ask for help when she needed it. She was as stubborn as he was, if not more. He sighed, shaking his head.

“It’s going to take time to design and build the prosthetics, even with both Tony and I working on them. She’s going to need all of us in the interim.” Bruce echoed Tony’s thoughts and he turned to peer at the other man.

“I don’t think she’s going to take it well, either.” Clint said softly, scuffing his boot against the floor. The rest of them nodded, they all knew Natasha too well.

“Aye, but we will be there for her. That may have to be enough.” Thor spoke up, even his usual boisterousness was subdued and his voice was low and quiet. They all nodded again.

“We take care of our own.” Steve said firmly. Natasha was part of their team, part of their family. And the love of Tony’s life, not that he would freely admit that in public. They would all do what was needed to help Natasha, there was no question about that. They once again lapsed into silence, the mood still sombre. Every single head in the room swiveled to face the door when it opened. A rather petite woman walked into the room, and Tony recognized her as the doctor he had spoken to earlier. She didn’t look the slightest bit perturbed at the fact that she was facing a room of Avengers.

“Mr. Stark?” She wasted no time in addressing him, and he stood immediately. He was Natasha’s medical proxy, the very top of the list, though that list included Bruce, Steve and Clint. Tony nodded for the doctor to continue.

“Miss Romanoff pulled through surgery just fine, there were some complications but nothing lasting. We were forced to amputate her entire right leg and her right arm from the elbow down. We also pulled a significant amount of shrapnel out of her right side. She’s been given several blood transfusions and is nearly stable, but we’re keeping an eye on her in case of infection or other complications.” Tony could at least appreciate that the woman didn’t sugar coat anything.

“Can we see her?” He asked, and even if she said no, he’d pull strings. He needed to see Natasha, he needed to touch her. To make sure she was really with him. The doctor looked over the Avengers and nodded.

“We’ve moved her to a private room because of how high profile she is; if you’ll follow me.” She said, and Tony watched Bruce and Steve rise. As a group they filed out of the room and followed behind the doctor. Tony was afraid to look at the rest of his team, because he just knew their expressions would match his own. And he knew that none of them were okay. They had come far too close to losing Natasha, and it was only going to get harder. They arrived at Natasha’s room and shuffled inside, Tony catching the doctor slipping away. At least they’d have the semblance of privacy. Tony made immediately for the chair beside Natasha’s bed, and watched in her periphery as the rest of the team found spots around the room. But Tony’s main focus was Natasha. He reached out and brushed the hair from her face, tucking it behind her ears. His hand skirted the edge of the oxygen mask, and he tried not to focus on that too hard. When he had entered he had immediately noticed the space under the sheet where her leg was supposed to be. As well as the bandaged remains of her arm. He was torn, he half wished she would wake up so that he could be sure she was going to be okay, and the other half of him wished to spare her from the news. But he also knew that decision was taken out of his hands anyway, because she was still heavily drugged. He knew that much. So he settled with wrapping his hand around hers, eying the IV line.

Tony wasn’t sure how long he sat like that with her, with the rest of the Avengers in the background. Hours, at least. Until he heard Steve and Bruce shift and stand, and turned his head around. He had almost forgotten that they were in the room with him.

“Tony, we should head home.” Steve said, motioning for Tony to join them. Tony shook his head, hell no. He was staying with Natasha, at the very least until she woke up. He needed to be the one to break the news to her, he knew she would take it best from him.

“I’m staying here, Cap. She’s going to need me when she wakes up.” He told their team leader, and realization dawned on Steve’s face. The blond nodded.

“We’ll be back when we can.” Steve said, and Tony nodded. Now that they knew, at least somewhat, that Natasha was going to be okay, they still had their mission to finish off. Though, Tony didn’t like the idea of any of his team going back to that building.

“Steve, if you go back; take a scanner with you. Bruce knows where they are. And be careful.” Tony said, and Steve nodded, understanding. They couldn’t just leave potentially dangerous tech laying out in the open, but Tony really didn’t want to see anyone else get blown up. He watched the team leave, each of them throwing glances back towards Natasha. It seemed they were reluctant to leave as well, and Tony couldn’t blame them. They had come far too close. But he knew his rightful place was at her side, no matter what. He let his other hand drift over to card his fingers through her hair. If he just looked at her face, he could almost believe it was a routine close call. That she would wake up and be fine. But he didn’t let himself believe that for too long. He couldn’t let himself get caught up in what could have been, it wouldn’t help her and it wouldn’t help him.

Tony sat there for hours, watched nurses come and go. Even managed to hold a conversation with one. He watched them swap out the oxygen mask for tubing, which made him feel a little better. It was well into the early morning when Natasha finally stirred. Instantly Tony was alert and aware, despite having nearly drifted off.

“Tasha? Are you with me?” He called quietly. If she wasn’t actually waking up, he didn’t want to be the one to wake her. But her hand flexed under his and her face scrunched up. He knew those were signs of her pulling herself out of a drug induced haze. He’d seen it often enough. He also knew that it would take her a few minutes to process things, unless she noticed prematurely. She flexed her hand again and he watched her other arm twitch. Then she jerked and gasped, her eyes flying open. She had noticed.

“Боже мой.” She breathed, ripping her hand out of Tony’s grip to reach over to her other side. Tony caught her hand halfway, once he realized what she was going to do. He guided her hand back to the bed, checking the IV line to make sure she hadn’t ripped it out or disrupted it. And then his full attention was back on her. Her pupils were blown wide and she was staring at what was left of her arm. He reached out and cupped her chin, gently, and then he forcefully redirected her gaze. She was panicking, he could easily tell that without the EKG’s rapid tones or her heaving chest.

“Tash, you need to calm down, okay?” He told her, squeezing her hand. He could see her trying to process everything. And it definitely wasn’t going as smoothly as he had hoped.


	3. Chapter 3

Natasha hated waking up in the hospital. She hated feeling the drugs in her system and having to fight through the haze to get some clarity. So when she awoke this time, she didn’t think it was anything new. She kept her eyes closed and her pulse steady as she took in the sounds around her. It was instinct to wake up like that, to gauge the situation before she showed external signs of waking up. There was pain just below the drugs, localized to her right side. She vaguely remembered it feeling like it was on fire before, so she wasn’t surprised. There was a hand wrapped around hers, and she suspected it was Tony’s.

“Tasha? Are you with me?” Ah, that was definitely Tony’s voice. She twitched her hand and scrunched up her face, clearly displeased that she was even in the hospital. Still, something had felt off when she had twitched her hands. She twitched her hand again, and definitely couldn’t feel her right one. She jerked and gasped, because something wasn’t right. She hadn’t even realized she had opened her eyes, but at least it explained why she couldn’t feel her right hand. _It wasn’t there._

“Боже мой.” She huffed out and ripped her hand from Tony’s grip to reach over and prove to herself what was going on. Because her right arm from the elbow down _was gone_. Tony caught her hand, but she was too busy staring at what was left of her arm to notice much. This definitely wasn’t happening. It had to be part of some sick prank, right? She was struggling for breath and in the back of her mind she could hear insistent beeping. But she was too focused on the fact that she was missing part of her arm. Her boyfriend gripped her chin and moved her gaze away, but she was still staring wide-eyed in shock.

“Tash, you need to calm down, okay?” Calm down? Was he insane? Even as he squeezed her hand, she didn’t want to process this. But her mind already was. Against her will she was processing the situation, even as she full out panicked. Tony stroked her cheek with his thumb and she whimpered. This wasn’t what she wanted.

“You need to calm down or they’re going to come drug you, Tasha.” His voice was soothing, but she was still far too worked up. She almost wanted to let them drug her, then she wouldn’t have to deal with the situation. But her hatred of being drugged with anything won out, and she started forcing herself to calm down. Tony let go of her chin and waved someone off at the door, she didn’t turn to look.

“What happened to my arm?” She managed to croak out after a few minutes, hanging her head. At least she wasn’t laying flat on her back, because that would be an entirely new problem. She watched Tony’s face, watched as his face fell at her words.

“It was too damaged from the explosion, they had to remove it.” His voice was soft and gentle and still she flinched. She studied his face and could tell there was still more.

“What else?” She asked cautiously, shifting a little on the bed. She could read Tony too well, she knew there was something he wasn’t saying. He squeezed her hand again and reached up to cup her cheek. “Just tell me.” She said softly, turning away from his hand.

“They had to take your right leg, too.” She could detect the sadness and regret in his voice, but she wasn’t focusing on that. She frowned and glanced down at her legs. Sure enough, she could only feel and see her left one under the sheet. She groaned and leaned her head back. She wasn’t going to let this overwhelm her, not here, not now. She bit her bottom lip and pulled her hand out from under Tony’s once more. She didn’t want to believe it, she didn’t want to believe any of it. Reaching up, she intended to remove the oxygen cannula. And she didn’t know what she was going to do after, but she needed to process. And it just wasn’t happening now. Not with drugs still coursing through her system.

“Tasha.” She wasn’t looking at him, but she felt him sit on the edge of the bed. She wasn’t going to admit that there were tears forming, she was refusing to deal with anything right then. Natasha jerked her head to the side when her hand was once again caught by Tony. She frowned at him, and was about to saying something. But all that came out of her mouth was a strangled noise.

“Shh. It’s going to be all right.” He pulled her against his chest, and she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She let the tears fall, let herself be upset. Because she couldn’t be stone, couldn’t be strong. Not like this. He wrapped his arms around her and she let herself go limp in his embrace.

“How is it going to be okay? They’re gone.” She murmured against his chest, pressing her face against his shoulder. He didn’t have to live with this, and she wasn’t sure how she was going to live with it. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she felt heavy and exhausted. She was too out of it to try and figure out the logistics of it all, she just knew that her life was over. And that terrified her. She felt Tony’s hands on her back, rubbing. He was trying to soothe her, but she doubted it would work.

“Bruce and I are going to build you prosthetics. It’s going to be fine. They’ll be perfect, you won’t have to give anything up for long. I promise.” She tried to digest his words, but her mind was growing clouded. She found herself moaning and burying her face deeper against Tony’s chest.

“Just rest, we’ll talk more about it later.” He told her, and she felt his hand wrap around the back of her neck and rub. She couldn’t fight the drugs in her system any longer, and drifted off propped up against Tony.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Tony heaved a sigh when he felt her go limp against him. He knew she wasn’t going to react well, and seeing her so upset tore at him. But he would make this right, he knew he would. And he would stay by her side. He held her a few moments longer, making sure she was actually asleep. Then he gently laid her back on the bed, adjusting the sheet around her. His brow creased in a frown, she was still crying in her sleep. Tony reached up and brushed her tears away, guilt eating him up inside. He didn’t want to move from her bed, but eventually did so that a nurse could check her over. Returning to the chair beside her bed, he let his head fall into his free hand; his other hand was holding hers. He knew how to physically make it better, but he didn’t know how to help her deal with it mentally. He wasn’t good at these things. But he would do his best, for her.

“Tony?” His head snapped up to see Bruce enter the room. The scientist pulled up a second chair and sat down next to Tony.

“You should go home. Sleep, shower. Eat.” Bruce said, smiling gently at Tony. Tony shook his head, he needed to stay with her. Needed to be there for her. He turned back to face Natasha, afraid to look away for longer than a moment.

“She needs me here, Bruce. When she wakes up again.” He told Bruce what thoughts had been running through his head. Bruce put his hand on Tony’s shoulder, drawing the engineer’s attention again.

“She woke up?” Bruce asked, looking concerned. Tony nodded. He was trying not to dwell too much on that interaction, he could only hope it was the drugs in her system that had caused her to react the way she had. Logically, he knew that wasn’t the case. He knew her too well.

“Yeah, she, uh … didn’t take it well. She noticed almost immediately.” He tore his eyes away from Bruce’s sympathetic gaze, staring at the wall, the floor, anything but his friend.

“We expected that, though.” Bruce said gently, patting Tony’s shoulder. Tony shook his head, seeing her upset like that had been awful. And she would either continue to be upset until she worked through it, or compartmentalize and bury her feelings. And the latter wasn’t healthy, Tony could say that from experience. He hung his head and stared at the floor.

“Tony, if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of her. Go home. Eat, shower and sleep. I’ll stay with her.” Tony lifted his head and stared tiredly at Bruce. He knew the scientist was right, but he was so reluctant to leave Natasha’s side.

“Tony, one of us will be here with her at all times. We’re not going to leave her alone.” Tony knew that, they were a family. And they all stood by their injured teammates, staying when they could, or making sure someone was there. This wasn’t new to them, unfortunately. Tony heaved a sigh and finally nodded.

“You’re right …” Tony said quietly. He stood and bent over Natasha, placing a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be back in a few hours, Nat.” He told her, even if she couldn’t hear him.

“I took the Volvo, it’s parked in the parking deck.” Bruce told him, handing him the keys to said car. Tony nodded. Sleep and a shower sounded amazing right then, even if he had to leave Natasha’s side to do so. He headed out of the room, tossing one last glance back towards Natasha.


End file.
